The Soldier and The Queen
by SSVCloud
Summary: What happens when the World's Greatest Soldier is matched up by his friends with an Ice Queen by her sister? Love one never expected, tragedy, a shared enemy one could never imagine, action, excitement, laughs, sensuality...All this, all this, and more!
1. Prologue- Cosmic Matchmaking

Disclaimer: This is my first fanfiction in like…ten years, so I might be a little rusty. Also, this is my first time writing romance. So this might suck…

Disclaimer Part deux: The Avengers and the various characters therein are all owned by Marvel Comics and Disney. The version of The Avengers existing herein will be something of a portmanteau of their Cinematic and Comic Book varieties. Frozen, and all the characters therein, are owned by Disney. I do not claim any ownership, nor any intent to make a profit, through this story.

Prologue

It was a crisp Autumn afternoon in New York City, and Tony Stark was enjoying it from the comfort of Stark-er, Avengers Tower. A mug of Irish coffee in one hand and his smartphone in the other, Tony looked out over the shining New York skyline and was actually giving his best effort at relaxing in a way that didn't involve soldering irons or blowtorches. But that got boring after a little while, and with no sign of Crimson Dynamo or his other rogues to divert his attention, or even Stilt-Man, Tony decided to see what the rest of his team was up to.

"Jarvis," Tony said to the Artificial Intelligence hardwired into every building he lived in, "pull up the World Map and pick up the frequencies of everyone's Avengers badges." When Tony'd had new costumes made for everyone, he'd had a microchip implanted in the stylized 'A,' which could be synched up to any camera in the vicinity of the signal, or any satellite where there were no cameras. This let him keep an eye on his team at all times, though he doubted they would like very much if he knew. Bruce would probably like it least of all, since the chip was in the cell phone Tony gave him, which Tony swore was untraceable.

"Right away, sir." Replied Jarvis in a clipped alto, and in a matter of seconds, the New York skyline was replaced with a glowing blue map of the Earth, with a handful of yellow pings stretched across it. There were two in New York City that Tony could figure out pretty easily. Those would be himself, and Bruce, on the third floor, doing his yoga. Bruce had said something about how it calmed his aura and that how he hoped it would one day grant him complete control over The Hulk. Tony still subscribed to the idea that Bruce should just get a huge bag of weed.

There was a ping in Washington, DC, where Sam Wilson, aka The Falcon, was speaking to Congress on the treatment of US veterans. Wilson had figured that having helped play a role in saving the Earth once or twice, and being buddies with Captain America, would hold some sway.

In South America was the ping of Thor, who had taken his 'A' badge to clip onto his cape, taking it as a gesture of Tony's goodwill and friendship. Tony didn't want to think where Thor would try to put Mjolnir if he didn't like what the actual purpose of the badge was. Regardless, Thor was traipsing through the Brazilian rainforest with Darcy, Jane Foster's former intern, on some…cryptozoological expedition. Darcy had gotten into a big kick of looking for animals that supposedly didn't exist, which Tony couldn't really mock her for, given her present company. And as for Thor, Tony supposed there were worse ways to deal with getting dumped by your girlfriend than rebounding with her best friend. Not like it was something Tony hadn't done.

There were two blips in China for Natasha Rominov and Clint Barton, Black Widow and Hawkeye, respectively. Or maybe that was Natasha Barton now. Or maybe even Clint Rominov. Tony hadn't bothered to ask. Tony couldn't be sure if the two were in China on Honeymoon or were planning on another one of their Freedom Fighter routines that they'd been up to since SHIELD went belly-up, or if there was even a difference. Tony took a chug of Irish coffee and put it out of his mind.

And that just left the one other blip. Steve Rogers, Captain America, the greatest hero of them all (at least according to public opinion polls), was just sitting on a bench, overlooking the waterfront, staring out at Ellis island and sketching. God, that made Tony depressed. It wasn't that Steve was a gloomy guy, or even unsociable, he just…spent so much time in his own little bubble, either just trying to cope with and catch up on everything he'd missed out on, or lamenting the things he could never get back. Peggy Carter had passed away last month, which had been rough on Steve. Really rough. He'd never seen a man drink twelve beers to no effect, and then have the dexterity to walk downstairs to the Team Gym and total six punching bags before.

Thinking about Steve suddenly gave Tony another rather sad thought. He had Pepper, Bruce had Betty, when they weren't stalked by the government, anyway (though some fan circles believed that Tony and Bruce had each other, which Tony found preposterous), Clint and Natasha had each other, and Thor had Darcy. Sam was probably married, Tony could remember seeing a ring one time, but he'd never bothered to ask, and Sam had only been on the team three months, so he didn't think it was appropriate. But all Steve had were memories and gravestones. Tony finished off his Irish coffee and set it down on the coffee table, resolute in his idea.

"Jarvis, send out a call. Everyone but Steve. I'm gonna fix up my best friend."

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It was a bright, if chilly, fall morning in Arendelle. Kristoff and Anna were sitting on the roof of the castle, eating apples and looking at the sun reflecting on the fjord, Anna nuzzled into Kristoff's side. Kristoff held Anna in one arm and tugged at the collar of his fine silken tunic with the fingers of the other hand. Kristoff was still getting used to being a prince consort, with all the etiquette lessons and the people he had to know and the things he wasn't "supposed" to do. It was all a lot to take in for a guy raised by trolls. Still, living in a palace was pretty nice. And living in a palace with Anna was perfect.

"Hey, Kristoff?" Anna said suddenly, sitting up. But this caused her to lose her balance and let out a "Whoop!" as she started to slide down the roof. Kristoff went to grab at her, which caused him to lose his balance, too, and they slid down the roof together, screaming their heads off, until the roof wasn't there anymore, and the plummeted fifty feet to the ground.

Right into an enormous pile of red, brown, orange, and yellow leaves in the garden, cushioning their fall. They popped their heads out of the pile, laughing with that nervous exhilaration of having almost died. Kristoff reached over and started picking leaves out of Anna's auburn hair, smiling.

"So, what were you gonna say?" He asked, Anna giggling as his huge fingers tickled her scalp, until she shooed his hands away, shaking out her braids and letting the leaves fall freely.

"I was just going to say that I've been…thinking about Elsa." Kristoff sighed, rolling his eyes and flopping back under the pile of leaves. Anna scowled, pulling him up out of the leaves by his hair. "What was that for?" Kristoff winced, pushing Anna's hands away.

"Hey, ow, jeez! You're gonna pull out the roots or something!" He muttered, straightening his hair. "And it was because I know what you're going to say. It's the _only _thing you think about with Elsa. That even though she's being more outgoing and more of a people person, she's all alone." Anna threw up her hands, leaves flying everywhere.

"Well, she is!" Anna insisted. "She doesn't have anyone. Not like you and me have each other…" Anna scooted closer to Kristoff, drawing slow circles on his chest with the nail of her index finger, giving him a coy raised eyebrow. Kristoff blushed, and pushed her hand away.

"Are you trying to flirt with me to get me to listen to one of your plans again?" Anna put a hand to her mouth and made her huge eyes even wider, the picture of innocence, giving a small shrug that said "Maaaaaybe." Kristoff sighed again, running a hand through his hair. "Anna, it's just…we've tried already! We've tried like six times! But you won't let her date any foreign princes-"

"Do I not have a good reason to?!" Anna interjected. She'd had a hard time trusting any of the young men who came to court interested in Elsa's hand, after the whole Hans incident. Kristoff held up his hands defensively.

"I didn't say you didn't! But eliminating them really just leaves the people in Arendelle, most of whom are just ordinary people, or guards, and, more importantly, all of whom are Elsa's subjects. It would make dating kind of weird, and would mean breaking up could involve exile or execution." Anna punched Kristoff painfully on the arm, though he knew she didn't mean to. She just had no idea how strong she was.

"Elsa would never do that! She shouted, then gave a reigned sigh, flopping back into the leaves. "I just don't know what else to do, Kristoff! Nobody wants to be alone!" Kristoff smirked, leaning back on his palms.

"The last time you said that, Elsa had us thrown off a cliff by Marshmallow." Anna smirked back, remembering the wild adventure that had brought them together. She grabbed a handful of leaves and lobbed them playfully at Kristoff as she spoke.

"Yeah, but not forever!" Kristoff started talking, but his words quickly faded to the back of Anna's hearing as she looked up at the sky. And, more importantly, at the spire at the top of the palace. Where a woman with bright red hair in all black was hanging by some kind of wire and looking in the window of what had to be…Elsa's room!" Anna sat bolt upright, while Kristoff continued talking.

"And maybe, you know, Elsa's not into guys. Or girls. Maybe if she was really lonely, she could just make a snow-" Anna slapped a hand over Kristoff's mouth, shushing him curtly and pointing up. Kristoff's eyes followed, but before he could say anything, Anna burst from the pile of leaves and was running as fast as she could, pulling up her dress so she wouldn't trip. Kristoff groaned, starting after her. "But we just fell off the roof!" He whined to no one in particular.

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Tony stared through the shimmering blue portal, looking at a world that looked like it came right out of one of those storybooks he never read as a kid, munching a handful of caramel popcorn. He turned to Thor on his right, who was also watching, and eating a twizzler, and Clint on his left, who was drinking a Slurpee. They were all sitting in appropriately colored bean bag chairs. Bruce had neglected to participate, and said "Even though Steve is my friend, I've got better things to do with my time than play matchmaker." Clearing his throat of salt and sticky sugar, Tony spoke, looking at Thor.

"All right, so how's this thing work again?" Thor spoke with the twizzler dangling from his lip like the entrail of a wild boar. Vikings ate that sort of stuff, right, Tony thought to himself.

"Though it is true that there are only nine realms," he began, and gestured at the portal, "Darcy and I have discovered that there are subrealms, sharing certain qualities with two or more of the larger realms. This Arendelle resides as part of a realm between Midgard and Asgard." He slurped the twizzler into his mouth noisily as Tony nodded, then asked

"And how did you figure out how to make these portals?" Thor just shrugged, and that was good enough for Tony. Thor wasn't much of a science guy, and for that matter neither was Darcy. They probably stumbled into it on blind luck.

Hawkeye sat up in his bean bag chair, trying to keep his Slurpee from spilling all over his shirt.

"So why this Elsa chick? Is she somebody special?" Thor nodded, pulling another twizzler out of the bag, and Tony decided to take his life into his own hands and put one of those hands between Thor's mouth and the twizzler.

"Thor, please. Don't talk with your mouth full. It's easier to understand you that way." Thor scowled momentarily, then shrugged, resting the twizzlers atop Mjolnir.

"This was the first of the subrealms that Darcy and I discovered, and so we have watched it for some time. This Elsa is an interesting young woman. She has strange powers, not unlike us. She is a kind individual, compassionate, and very beautiful. But she is shy, and does not trust easily, afraid of her own power." Clint raised an eyebrow.

"So why try to set her up with Steve?" Thor gave a small shrug and grinned that grin of his, as if the whole world were some big joke he hadn't decided to let anyone in on yet."

"If we were seeking a companion exclusively for Captain Rogers' benefit, I am sure Stark knows of many women who would accept payment for such companionship." That comment nearly made Tony snort caramel popcorn as he tried to choke down a laugh. Obliviously, Thor continued. "I believe that Rogers has as much to offer Elsa in helping her as she would in helping him." Then, he leaned forward in his bean bag chair, watching as someone was walking up behind Black Widow.

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Natasha pushed a hand through her hair, the light Fall wind blowing through it gently as she spoke into the portal. "Yeah, I got a good look at her. She's definitely pretty, and she seems nice enough, as far as royalties go." She looked at her watch, and saw that it was close to six. Steve would probably be heading back to the tower soon, so they'd need to wrap this up. "So, how are we going to set this up, do I talk to one of her staff, or-" And then decades of military training made Natasha acutely aware of two people sneaking up behind her. Flicking a thumb across her stun bracelets, Natasha spun around, expecting guards, or maybe even bandits. What she couldn't have expected was a brunette in pigtails and a green dress followed by a blonde…lumberjack in a white tunic and black trousers. They both had pointed boots. Why Natasha had noticed that, and not the fact that they were each holding a pickaxe, Natasha had no idea. The brunette spoke first, angry fire in her green eyes.

"Why were you spying on my sister?" She asked, glowering, squeezing the pickaxe in her hands. Blondie didn't seem like he really wanted to be there, but he looked willing to fight if the brunette was in trouble. Natasha didn't move her hand away from her stun bracelet, trained on the big one.

"My name's Natasha. Who are you?" She asked coolly, trying to keep things calm. She didn't think it would do wonders for Steve's attempted romance if she started an interdimensional incident. The brunette took a step forward, and it took all of Natasha's energy to fight the reflex to shoot her right there.

"I'm Princess Anna of Arendelle." She looked back at Blondie, no longer angry for just a moment, "And that's my husband, Kristoff." Kristoff waved awkwardly, and Natasha bit her lip to keep from laughing, before Anna spun back on her again. "Now, why were you spying on my sister?!" Natasha sighed, taking a deep breath.

"Would you believe…I'm trying to set her up on a date?" Anna's eyes narrowed, and she raised the pickaxe high overhead. "No." She said bluntly, and charged, Kristoff following behind her at a slight delay. What would have happened next, no one was sure, as everything went white with the sound of thunder and the smell of burning air. When it cleared, Thor, Tony, and Clint were standing between the two parties, Clint's arrow already drawn and tapping Kristoff on the nose, who stared at the arrow, bug eyed.

These were certainly the strangest people Anna had ever seen. The big one looked normal enough, and the guy with brown hair was some kind of archer, but she was completely thrown off by the older gentleman, from his clothes, to his posture, to the weird light coming from under his tunic, which had a mural painted on it dedicated to something called "Metallica." He held out a hand and smiled amicably.

"Hi," he said with an easy confidence. "Tony Stark. I think we all got off on the wrong foot."


	2. Chapter 1: First Date Jitters

Steve Rogers stood awkwardly in the elevator leading up to the top floor of Avengers Tower, dressed in a blue suit with a white shirt and red tie. He tugged awkwardly at the tie, having not worn one since that disastrous correspondence dinner that turned out to be a trap by The Masters of Evil. He wasn't sure why Tony had asked for him to come to the top floor of Avengers Tower, or why he needed to "look his best," and he had his trusty shield strapped across his back just in case. In truth, Steve felt uncomfortable without it. He'd been through a lot with this shield. As he contemplated all this, the elevator finally came to a stop and chimed as the doors slid open. Tony was standing in the center of the break room, in his usual jeans and t-shirt, and spun around when he heard the door chime. Immediately, he threw his head back in exasperation.

"God, _really, _Steve? Red, white, and blue? I mean, I know you can be a cliché sometimes, but-" And then Tony cut himself off, seeing the leather straps on Steve's shoulders. "Oh, for Christ's sake, are you wearing the shield? Really?" Steve gave a half smile and shrugged. On some level, he always enjoyed riling Stark up.

"Well, if you told me why you wanted me to show up, I wouldn't have felt like bringing it-" Tony cut him off, pulling a comb out of his pocket that snapped open like a switchblade and started fussing with Steve's hair, combing it into a part on the left.

"No, nuh uh, no talking right now." Steve just rolled his eyes and shook his head, sighing ruefully. Clearly, he wasn't going to get a word in edgewise in this conversation. Tony put the comb away and brushed Steve's shoulders. "All right, fine. You wanna know why I called you? We set you up with a date." Steve couldn't stop himself from laughing this time.

"We? What we? What, did the whole team decide they needed to play matchmaker for me?" It was just ridiculous enough for Steve to believe Stark had put it all together, but surprisingly, Stark shook his head.

"No, not the whole team. Bruce didn't participate. I'm beginning to think all that yoga makes him anti-fun." Steve rolled his eyes again, as Tony put a hand on his back. "All right, look. Just…act natural. No, wait, that's a terrible idea. Just…try to be cool. You'll know here when you see her. I'll see you in about…I dunno, an hour?" Steve was about to ask just what that meant, when suddenly a blue portal appeared in front of them, and Tony gave Steve a good shove in the back, sending him stumbling through the portal.

A hundred thoughts raced through Steve's mind. Was this a trap? Had Tony been replaced by a Skrull, or an Android built by Doom? Was he sent to some alternate dimension helltrap? But as Steve calmed down and got a good look at his surroundings, it certainly seemed like, if this were a prison dimension, it was a pretty terrible one. There was a bright blue sky, a crystal clear sea in clear view, and a light Autumn breeze. It looked like Steve had been deposited into an old village in Norway, with the exception of a castle in the distance. Steve found himself hoping that his date spoke English, as his Norwegian was…rusty to the point of nonexistence. The only thing about this place that was strange was that no one seemed bothered by him appearing out of nowhere. If anything, people just seemed to smile pleasantly and say "Welcome to Arendelle." Steve smiled and waved back, and started making his way down the street, taking in the scenery and keeping an eye out for this mystery date of his.

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Elsa walked down the street, unable to stop herself from fidgeting with her hair and tugging at the sleeve of her dress as she did. It wasn't that the dress was uncomfortable, it couldn't be. Another one of her icy creations, it was perfectly comfortable, shimmering and sparkling white and blue like mountain snow against the winter sky. Anna had picked out a few different dresses for her, but they all had lacked...material. What was uncomfortable was this whole situation. Elsa chided herself for letting Anna continue to do this to her as she waved and smiled politely at her subjects. She should have told Anna months ago that this was a terrible idea and that she wasn't looking for a boyfriend. Well, she had, but Anna was persistent, and Elsa couldn't bring herself to put her foot down on the matter. Mostly because Anna would have made the most pitiful, big-eyed face about Elsa spoiling her fun all over again. And besides, no matter how much she might deny it to herself, somewhere in the back of her mind, she was starting to feel certain…romantic inclinations. Maybe this date would succeed where the last five or six had failed.

Elsa was so distracted by her musings that she didn't even notice when she walked into a wall. Or, at least, Elsa's first assumption was that what she'd walked into was a wall. It was certainly hard enough to be a wall. But walls, Elsa realized, usually don't wear clothes, or grab you to keep you from falling over.

Steve hadn't been paying attention to where he was going, just taking in the sights of this strange little town he'd been literally shoved into. When the young woman bumped into him, the only reason he caught her was instinct. When Steve looked down to stammer out an apology, he was stunned into silence. She was _gorgeous. _From her silvery blonde hair to her bright blue eyes to her red lips to the arch of her eyebrows, Steve was sure he'd never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. Slowly, his manners returned to him, and he let go of the woman, once he was certain she was able to stand.

"I-I'm sorry about that." Steve stammered. "I wasn't…wasn't looking where I was going." And his voice was the most wonderful sound Elsa had ever heard. Whoever this stranger was, he was the most handsome stranger Elsa had ever met. Butterflies flittered around in Elsa's stomach as she looked at him, and a tingling ran all along her arms like electricity. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was hoping she didn't look like a slack-jawed idiot, but in the moment, she didn't care. And when the man said "Uh, I'm…looking for someone that my friends set me up with. But they didn't exactly say who", Elsa's heart soared, and she couldn't stop herself from blurting the next words out.

"That's me!" She said, practically shouting, a dazzling smile on her face so wide that it nearly split her head open. Then, remembering herself, she straightened and spoke in a more calm, measured tone. "I mean, my sister did the same thing to me." Remembering her manners, she curtsied, never breaking eye contact, her smile more dignified and restrained. "I am Queen Elsa of Arendelle." Even though she was keeping herself composed on the outside, she was practically squealing with excitement on the inside as Steve smiled.

A Queen. That took Steve a few seconds to process. Tony had tried setting him up with a handful of celebrities, Olympic athletes, and supermodels, and Thor had even attempted to put him on a date with the Lady Sif, but a Queen was way outside his circle of understanding. He was just a dumb kid from Brooklyn. As he pondered this, a voice screamed in his head _"Tell her your name, stupid!", _and that sounded like a very good idea.

"Uh, Steve. Steve Rogers." He said, then bowed awkwardly. "Captain Steve Rogers." As long as they were exchanging titles and all. Though calling himself a Captain made Steve painfully aware of his shield, and he hoped Elsa wouldn't find it stupid. Already, he was cursing himself just for bringing the stupid thing. "I'm…not from around here." He said dumbly, and Elsa gave a small smile, looking him up and down.

"I gathered from the way you were dressed." But even as she said it, that little voice of self-doubt was racing in her mind. _"Oh God, was that mean? Did it sound mean? Am I saying his clothes are weird and stupid?" _Quickly, she attempted to cover it. "I mean, you dress very nicely, Steve, but you're just dressed differently from the other men." She held out her arm for Steve to take and smiled. "Shall I show you around my kingdom?" Steve smiled in return and hooked his arm around Elsa's, and her whole body tingled.

"Lead the way." Steve said, smiling wider than he had in a long time. Steve and Elsa walked all over town, and Elsa acted as a bit of a tour guide, telling Steve about the history of both the area and Arendelle as a whole. She mentioned many times how she hoped she wasn't boring Steve, but Steve himself was a bit of a history buff, especially since he was technically a part of history himself. Naturally, he left that last part out, and simply told her he was more than happy to learn about her kingdom. After walking around for a long time, Steve and Elsa decided to stop at one of the restaurants in town with outside seats. Being a gentleman, Steve pulled out Elsa's chair for her. Elsa was glad Steve didn't ask to see the castle, as she wasn't quite ready to bring him home just yet. Mostly because Anna would never let her hear the end of falling in love with a man she'd just met.

"I suppose the one of the nice things about you being Queen is that we don't have to pay for lunch." Steve said with a smile, then immediately thought _"Does that sound like I'd use her for her money? Or that I'm a cheapskate? Oh God, fix it, fix it!" _"Not, uh, not that I wouldn't pay for lunch, I just…don't think my money's good here. I mean, I'd be more than happy to, I just…" Steve decided to cut himself off by drinking a glass of water as Elsa chuckled lightly. He decided to change the subject when he spoke again. "So…I've heard plenty about your Kingdom, or, Queendom, I guess. But what about you? You said you have a sister?" Elsa nodded and smiled, then remembered it would probably be polite to go into detail.

"Well, yes. I have a younger sister named Anna. She's about three years younger than me, so she's 21. She's married to a nice young man named Kristoff, who sells ice in the Summer. He's the Arendelle royal Icemaster and Deliverer. A title he earned after…let's say he and my sister had a bit of an adventure." She smiled, twirling one of her fingers on the tablecloth, color rising in her cheeks as she saw Steve smiling and listening intently, looking at her like she was the only thing in the world. "My sister and I were very close when we were little, but then we…" Elsa's voice caught in her throat, and she could feel the cold chill gathering in her palm as she remembered that awful night. Her chest grew tight and it felt like there were chips of ice in her lungs, her whole body growing cold as her breath grew short. She was worried she was going to have a breakdown, which would probably ruin the chances of a second date, when Steve laid a huge, warm, gentle hand on top of hers. Elsa looked up, and saw Steve's gray-green eyes full of concern.

"Are you all right?" Steve asked, squeezing her hand gently, and it was as if a warm Summer breeze washed over Elsa's whole body, and she sighed, feeling the chill leave her body as she relaxed, almost collapsing back in her chair. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, nodding slowly. She took a sip of water to calm her nerves.

"Y-yes." She said, a faint smile on her lips that slowly grew as she spoke. "It was just…we had a falling out when we were younger. It was my fault. But we patched things up. Like sisters do." Steve smiled and nodded, then looked down at his hand and blushed, drawing away almost reluctantly. "So…you know a little about me. But what about me. You said you were a captain. Do you have a boat, or are you a soldier?" Steve laughed a little at that question. So many ways to answer that one.

"No, I'm definitely not a ship captain. Truth be told, I've never much liked boats." Steve paused, not quite sure how to phrase this. How exactly do you tell a medieval Queen what a superhero is? "And I'm…not a soldier. Well, not anymore, anyway. I was. A long time ago." He reached back and tapped the shield on his back. "That's where I got this. And I guess that I still am a soldier. Just not for any country. Now, I fight for people." Elsa smiled again. God, she'd been turned into a smiling fool today. But she couldn't help it. Steve was just too much. A soldier for the people. Like a hero out of the stories her mother used to read to her and Anna when they were little. For a few minutes, they were awkwardly quiet as their sandwiches were brought out to them, and when the server left, Elsa was the first to speak.

"You said you were a soldier," Elsa began, trying to delicately approach the subject. "Have you…did you go to war?" Steve's face darkened, and he looked down at his plate, and Elsa was worried she'd said something horribly wrong. A hundred thoughts were racing through Elsa's mind about what could have happened, about what she might say to cover up her mistake. At the same time, Steve was thinking at the same frantic pace. What could he tell her? About the Super Soldier Program? About his friend that he thought had died? About how _he_ almost died? About the girl who he loved, who loved him, but moved on after he was presumed dead? About waking up to a world that was completely unlike everything he'd ever known? No. No, definitely not. Too much to bring up on the first date. Maybe too much to ever bring up. Better to just give her the shorter version.

"I…served in a war, yeah." Steve said slowly, looking back up at Elsa, and she felt her dread wash away as he looked at her, not with a smile, it would be strange to smile talking about this. But at least he no longer had that darkness on his face. "It was pretty huge. I didn't enlist to kill people, or because I loved my country. Not to say that I don't love my country, I mean…uh…" He stopped and took a long breath as Elsa giggled at his flusteredness. "I just wanted to do the right thing and help people. I had-I had a really close call near the end of the war, and decided it was time to come home. When I got back…things had changed a lot. I'm still trying to catch up." Elsa could tell from his tone that Steve was hiding something. Three years of talking to Anna on a regular basis had helped her pick up when someone was lying, or at least hiding the truth. But for now, she had the feeling it was better not to bother him about him about it. She smiled, this time putting her hand over Steve's.

"Well, I hope you don't get too busy catching up to stop and chat every once in a while. Maybe more than just chat." She blushed slightly. Did she really just say that? And had she actually tried to sound _sultry? _God, she must have sounded so stupid! Steve bit his lip, stifling a laugh.

"Just-" he stopped, trying to keep the laugh in, hoping she wouldn't think he was laughing at her. "Just once in a while?" They laughed together, then spent the rest of their time just making small talk, asking about favorite colors and hobbies. But nothing too extreme for the rest of that afternoon. As the sun started to go down, Steve looked down at his watch and saw that his time was just about up. He looked back at Elsa and smiled regretfully. Part of him didn't want to go, but he knew his place was back at home.

"Looks like I've got to be going." Steve said as he stood up, then walked around and pulled out Elsa's chair. She frowned as she stood up, reaching up to place a hand gently on Steve's neck, looking up at him with soft, sad blue eyes.

"But I'll definitely see you again, right?" And looking at that face, Steve wouldn't have been able to say no, even if he wanted to. He smiled, putting a hand over Elsa's, and another hand at her waist.

"Definitely." He said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. They stood awkwardly for a moment, wondering what they should do. Neither had much experience with dates. Should they kiss? Would that be too soon? Would the other person be mad if they weren't kissed? Steve started to lean down for a kiss, and Elsa's heart thundered in her chest like a drum.

Before they could do anything, though, the air shimmered, and the portal Steve had been pushed through before burst into existence, glowing and quivering like water. Elsa looked at the portal with only slight surprise. She'd seen plenty of strange things, and at least it explained what Steve meant when he said he wasn't from around Arendelle. She looked up and saw Steve's regretful, torn expression, and leaned up to give him a quick peck on the cheek. It was the first time she'd ever kissed a boy, and she couldn't help but giggle as his face turned bright red. Still on her tip toes, she leaned up and whispered "Maybe next time." Steve swallowed and nodded wordlessly, and walked to the portal. He had one foot in, when he remembered it would be rude to leave without saying anything. He turned and looked back at Elsa, trying to be cool.

"I had a great time, Elsa." He said, a wide smile on his face, enjoying the taste and the sound of her name. Elsa grinned back and gave a little wave with her fingertips.

"So did I, Steve." And on an impulse, Steve blew her a kiss. Her eyes went wide with surprise, and her cheeks turned so red they looked like they were burning. Steve chuckled, and walked through the portal, which snapped shut behind him. The citizens of Arendelle looked mildly interested at the entire spectacle, and Elsa, having forgotten everything about dignity and grace and royal restraint, skipped back to the castle.

Tony was standing in the center of the break room, looking just pleased as punch, arm crossed over his chest and grinning ear to ear. As if he'd been restraining himself ever since Steve had left, he lunged at Steve, wrapping him up in a hug and mussing his hair.

"Way to go, Tiger!" He shouted jubilantly. "I knew hanging around me long enough, you'd learn how to be smooth! Oh man, the look on her face. Captain America: Ladykiller. Do you like it? I like it." Steve laughed, pushing Tony away playfully. 

"You have lousy timing, you know that?" Tony laughed, and the two friends made their way to the couch and ordered pizza before Tony sent out the call to the rest of the team, so Steve could tell everyone (everyone that would answer, anyway. Thor was dealing with The Absorbing Man in New Mexico, that could take an hour or two, and it was past curfew for the Maximoff twins at Avengers Academy) all about his day.


End file.
